Chapter 17: Reading Critically

Reading critically does not mean reading a text with the purpose of criticizing or finding fault with it. Instead, critical reading is the process of determining whether a text is valid and then deciding whether you agree with the ideas it presents.

The ultimate goal of critical reading is critical thinking, an important skill in all areas of life, not just in your academic courses. Critical thinkers do not just believe everything they hear or read.

Instead, they approach new ideas and information with a healthy skepticism. They have learned how to analyze texts and ideas not only to understand them better, but also to decide whether they should accept those ideas, reject them, or think about them further. College students, in particular, are expected to read critically. Professors assign textbook chapters, journal articles, and other readings not just to have you memorize facts, but also to encourage you to think about the texts so you can expand and refine your ideas.

Critical reading, of course, begins with active reading. In order to evaluate an author’s ideas or information, you need to completely understand them, and practicing active reading techniques will increase your comprehension of the material. After actively reading a text, a critical reader thinks in depth about what he or she has read. Thinking critically about a reading selection involves all of the following:

• Evaluating the evidence given in support of the thesis and main idea. Does it seem to be adequate? Does it seem to be accurate?
• Scrutinizing the author’s conclusions. Do they arise logically from the evidence presented? Does the author exhibit any bias—in other words, does he or she obviously have certain opinions or prejudices?
• Comparing the ideas and information to your own experiences and observations.

You can choose to agree or disagree with the author after doing all of the preceding. The following activities can help you read and think critically:

• As you read, you can annotate, or write brief comments in the margin of the text or in a reading journal if you cannot use the actual text. These comments can include your reactions to specific points or details and your questions about those points and details. They can take the form of words or phrases (such as “true,” “seems exaggerated,” and so on) or even symbols (such as writing an exclamation point next to a sentence that surprises you or writing a question mark in the margin when you are confused). Annotation is a valuable skill for critical thinking because it can become a kind of dialogue between you and the author as the author tries to convince you to accept his or her ideas.
• You can also answer the questions that may follow a text. In textbooks, in particular, authors provide a list of questions that help you focus on the most important information or even begin to apply the information to your own life. Even if your instructor does not assign these questions, think about how you would answer them.
• Finally, you can discuss the text with others. Participate in class discussions about reading selections, and suggest to your classmates that you discuss texts more informally as well. By talking about what you read with others, you will confirm your understanding of the text, and you will get the opportunity to compare your reactions to the thoughts of other critical readers. These conversations will help all of you decide whether the text is valid.

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Content adapted from the open course titled “Open Now Developmental English” authored by Cengage Learning, licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.